Drawer-support for filing-cases.



No. 883,069. PATENTED MAR. 24, 1908. P. H. YAWMAN.

DRAWER SUPPORT POR FILING GASES.

APPLXOATION FILED 12.16. 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

@2XL man.

No. 883,069. PATENTED MAR. 24, 1908. P. H. YAWMAN.

DRAWER SUPPORT POR FILING CASES.

APPLI TION FILED M 11.16.1905.

GA A 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

www avm l exact description the reference numerals yTri-*all whom it mayconcern:

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEErcE.

PHILIP H. YAWMAN, OF ROCHESTER,

NEw YORK, AssIGNo'R To YAWMAN a ERBE MANUFAC- TURING COMPANY,OF'ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

DRAWER-SUPPORT FOR FILING-CASES.

` Patented March-24l, 190B.

Application ma umh 1e, 1905. serial No. 250,348.

Be it known that I, PHILIP H.}YAWMAN, of Rochester, in the county ofMonroe and\ State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Drawer- Supports for Filing-Cases; and I do herebydeclare the following to bea full,clear, and of the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming a partV of thisspecification, and to marked thereon.

My present invention relates to im rove-v ments in cases for filingdocuments andp otherpapers of various descriptions in drawers ofcomparatively large capacities, and it is the purpose of my invention toprovide su porting devices for these drawers which wi l pos sess am lestrength with the-least weight of materia and which will enable thedrawers to be easily withdrawn and returned `to the filing casealthoughthey may be heavily loaded with papers or documents, and whichwill prevent the drawers from binding excessively and sticking withinthe case from warping or other causes which would prevent or renderdiiiicult ythe manipulation of the drawer.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvementsand combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter more ullyexplained, the novel features being pointed out .in the claims at theend of the specification. V

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of aling case showing extensible supportsconstructed in accordance with myinvention applied thereto, the upper drawer being shown in closedposition and the lower drawer being shown withdrawn from the case; Fig.2 is a sec tional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the supportsand their ways in transe verse section; Fig. 3 is a .perspective view ofone of the supports removed from the case illustrating in dotted linesthe manner of inserting and removing the drawer rollers from the upperways of the support, and Figs. 4 and 5 represent in side elevation, andtransverse section respectively, a modied form of support which may besimilarly applied to the case for supporting the drawers thereof. v

The purpose of my invention is to provideextensible supports of thiskind which may be applied to filing cases or other furniture-comparatively light in site sides, the intermediate flange 8 an of asimilar nature for guidingland supporta minimum amount of friction toenable the latter to be ing the -drawers thereof wit readily and easilhandled even though they may be heavily oaded or weighted with papers,the particular construction of the su ports or ways being such that theymay fi) interposed between the drawers and the adjacent walls of thecasing with a minimum amount of clearance, and as they are preferablyconstructedl their peculiar formation will insure .ample strength toprevent sagging of the drawers, whl e the parts may be weight andcheaply manufactured.

In Pigs. 1, 2 and 3 I have shown onesform of my invention applied to theordinary wooden filing cases, the vertical walls 1 thereof between whichthe drawers areA adapted to fit being provided with thehorizontally-extending vstri s 2 preferably of sheet metal and securedpin any desired way to the opposite walls of the drawer opening at thesame level, and on each of these strips are journaled a series of.rollers 3, 4 and 5 which are mounted to ,rotate in a vertical plane. Theupper bearing surfaces of each series of rollers are arranged in thesame horizontal plane, but the rearmost roller 5 is of smaller diameterthan that of the intermediate roller 4 and the `forward roller 3. Theparticular form of supports which I prefer to em loy in connectlon withthese supporting rdllers are each made of substantial i the channel bars6 and 7 arranged edgewise and 'having their channel openings at o plpt eupper flange 9 with its overhanging ed e .10 forming horizontal ways atthe top o' lthe su thIe) ower flange 11 with its upturned edge 12forming separate ways in the lower portion of the support. In the lowerways formed between the horizontal flanges 8 and 11 are adapted to restthe rollers 3, 4 and 5 which are relatively fixed upon the case andvlocated therein is a stop 13 formed in the present instance byextending a pin from the upturned edge 12 inthe lower portion of theways transversely across the path of the larger rollers 3 and 4, theposition of this stop being such as to permit it-to ass the smallerroller 5 and cooperate with t e intermediate roller 4 to arrest therearward motion of the movable supports. In the upper ways the ort, andthe intermediate portion 8 vand 95 rollers 14 anfd 1,5 'ournaledat'e'ach side of the drawer 16 are a a ted to run, an abutment 17 beingprovide at the rear ends of the u per ways to engage the rearmostrollers 15 of) the drawer t0 act as stops between the latter and thesupport when the drawer is moving rearwardly, and at the forward ends ofthe upper ways are provided the roections 18 which act as stops to l1m1tt e orward motion of the drawer relatively to the supports, theintermediate section of the ways being of sufficient length to enablethe re uisite motion of the drawer. he upper flanges 9 of the upper waysare preferab cut away for a sufficient dlstance rearwardy of theprojections 18 to enable the rollers 14 and 15 of the drawer to passlongi udinally into and out of the ways after being lifted o ver thestops 18 for the purpose of removing the drawer, the downwardlyextendingedge 10 of the upper flange 9 bereferably extended forwardly to form a 1e which coperates with the inner sides of the rollers to 1nsure theirproper insertion Within the ways.

The supports shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 may be readily formed of sheetmetal possessing sufficientstrenglth and stiffness, for it will beunderstood t at the sides of the upper and lower ways 6 and 7 may bereadily roled or otherwise bent so as to extend on opposite sides and atright angles to the intermediate flange 8, and the edges of the endsthus formed ma be again bent at right angles, or paralle to thelntermediate flange 8, and in opposite directions to form the upper andlower flanges 9 and 11, the edges of these flanges being turned inwardlyor toward the intermediate flange 8 to form the substantially aralleledges 10 and 12 respectively Whicli are offset at opposite sides of thesupport. In this way theupper and lower ways which extend longitudinallyof the support arein substantia ly the same lane, but are arranged atopposite sides oft e intermediate flange 8, and the latter acts as atrack on which the rollers 3, 4 and 5 of the case, and 14 and 15 of thedrawer, `are adapted to run. The sto 17 at the rear ends of the upperways in t 's form are referably made by bending a portion o thelmaterial composing the support laterally so as 'to extend' transverselyof these ways, and it is preferable to fit a band of rubber or otherresihent material 19 over this sto which may act as a yielding buffer tore uce the shock that might be caused by contact between it and therollers 15 of the drawer. The forward stop 18 may be formed in a similarway by bending a forwardly-extend- 4 ing portion of the sheet materialin a direction transversely of the u er ways, an ear 18' thereon beingpreferallslp flan e 8 to renforce the s ot, and the forwar extension ofthe edge 10 of the upper secured to the flange 9 may be produced by4removing a' portion of the upper flange 9 to provide the aperture forthe passage of the drawer rollers and leaving a portion of the edge 10to form this guide.

Instead of manufacturing the guide Ways o r supports each of one singlepiece of mate'- r1al, 1t may be preferable in some instances to formthem of'two or more similar sections suitably united, and in Figs. 4 and5 I have shown a modified form of support which is made up of similarsections`20 and 21 secured together by the rivets or other fasteningdevices 22. Each of these sections' comprises the channel bars 23 and 24of suitable len th, and each of these channel bars has one o itslongitudinal edges turned or bent over to form a semi-circular track orguide 25 and 26, the opposite longitudinal edge of each section beincurved laterally in an arc of approximate y a uarter of a circle as at27 and 28, Aand is t ence bent substantially arallel to the body portionof the section to orm the attaching portions 20a and 21a and the edgesof these attaching portions are bent or curved laterally to form thesides 29 and 30 of the up er and lower ways. The similar sections t usformed arebrought together so that their attaching portions 20a and 21aare in proper relation and are then secured by the rivets or securingdevices 22, thus forming a support having the upper and lower tracks orchannels at the opposite sides thereof. The forward end of the u persection isl lrovided with a stop 31 whic is preferably ormed by bendingthe correspondin edge of the material laterall so as to extentransversely acrossv the trac and at the rear end of the same section asimilar stop 32 is rovided, preferably in the same way. Be- 'nd the stop31 at the forward end of the section the up er flange or guide 25 is cutvaway for a su cient distance to permit the rollers of the drawer topass into and out of the up er track or ways, and at the rear and in theottom of the lower section is provided a suitable stop 33 which may beformed in any desired way, and is of sufficient height to engage therollers 3 and 4 of larger diameter on the casing to arrest the forwardmotion of the supports andV to permit the passage of the smaller rollers5 in a manner s1milar to that described in connection with the stop 13,which is used on that form of support illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.When supports of this kind are employed wherein the tracks are curved incross section, correspondinglyformed rollers 34 are employed which maybe made of fiber or other composition, and

other places where a minimum clearance bctwecn the drawer and the wallofthe casing is obtainable, and by forming the tracks with a curvedcross section, the rollers will be so guided as to insure the properaction of the drawer withoutibindingagainst thcl walls of the casing.

Drawer su orts of the kind described may be readlii;r formed of sheetmaterial either in one integral piece, or-made up of sections suitablyunited, and in cach case the weight of the parts will be inconsiderallewhile the maximum strength is secured, for it will be observed that eachof the supports is made up substantially of two oppositelyarrangedchannel bars placed edgewise, and therefore theweight of the drawer,when it has been withdrawn from the case, will be easily sustainedwithout sagging or bending the supports, and at the same time lateral-motion of the drawer cai'lsed by bending of the supports laterally willalso be prevented. Moreover, by using the rollers inconnection with theguide ways of the supports and so arranging the latter that theyl maymove freely relatively to the drawer and the case, drawers ofconsiderable weight may be easily handled with a minimum friction, andthe operation of the arts is practically noiseless and secure fromerangement while the wear of the parts is' insi nilicant, and for this.

reason, the top of t e drawer will always register closely with thecasing which forms the top of the drawer opening, and the s ace whichusually develops during the use o the yordinary drawer on account of thewearing away of the co erating parts of the latter and the casing r oesnot occur in the use of drawer supporting devices constructed inaccordance with my invention.

Although it is preferable to employ the `supporting rollers to operatein the ways of the extensible supports for the reason that friction andwear of the parts is reduced to a minimum, it will be understood that suporting devices of any suitable form may e employed instead of therollers and the ways of the extensible supports may be correspondinglyformed to accommodate the artlcular form of supporting `devices whic itis desirable to employ.

'In carrying my invention into practiceit is preferable to so form theextensible supports that the rollers or other supporting deg vlcesarranged on the casing and the drawer will be provided with stops tolimit their vertical motion while they occupy any posi- 1 tion on theirrespective ways, and in both forms of my invention herein shown, eachofthe ways are formed between up er and lower tracks or guides, so thatwliien the drawer and the supports are withdrawn from ythe casino', theforward lrollers 14 of the drawer will rest upon the lower guide of theupper ways while the rearmost rollers 15 will bear against the upperguide thereof, and in a similar way, the forward rollers 3 of the lilingcase will bear against ,the upper guide of the lower ways while therollers 4 will bear against the lower guide thereof, and therefore itwill be obvious that sagging or tilting of the drawer and the supportsat their forward portions is eectually prevented, and as these rollersor supporting devices are closely confined by these guides in a verticalplane, the motion of the drawer while being withdrawn and replacedwithin the casing will be in a straight line, and will not be deflecteddownwardly toward the forward part of its motion, and these results aresecured with supports that are extremely compact, requiring very littlespace betweenv the drawer and casing.

I claim as m invention:

1. The combination with a casing havin a drawer opening therein andsupporting (levices arranged on opposite walls of the casing, of adrawer operating within the opening, supporting devices on oppositesides thereof and supports movable freelybetweenA the sides of thedrawer and casin vided with separate ways adapte/g to receive thesupporting devices of the drawer and casin respectively, each way beingaccessible on y from the side at which its cooperating device ismounted.

2. The combination with a cabinet having a drawer openinl therein,a-drawer adapted to operate 1n sai opening, and suitable supportindevices on the drawer and the cabinet, o slidable supports arranged tooperate between the drawer and cabinet, each having oppositely turnedhorizontal ways to coperate with said supporting devices respectively,each way being accessible only from the side of the support on which itscoperating device is mounted, and guiding edges arranged angularly tosaid ways for preventing lateral disengagement of the supporting devicesfrom their ways.

3. The combination with a cabinet, a drawer mounted to operate thereinand supporting devices arranged'between the sides lof the drawer andcabinet, of movable supports having ways thereon cooperating with saidsup orting devices, each way being accessible iiiom the side of themovable support on which its respective coperating device is mounted,and having a guiding portion eX- tending laterally of said coperatingdevice to prevent its disengagement.

4. The combination with a cabinet, a drawer adapted to operate therein,and supporting devices provided on the cabinet yand drawer, of supportsmounted t'o operate between the drawer and cabinet each composed ofsheet material bent to form -an intermedieach proate track sectionhaving the supporting devices of the drawer and cabinet arranged onopposite sides thereof, and lianges formed above and below said tracksection for preventing tilting between the drawer and casing.

5. The combination with a cabinet, a drawer adapted to operate therein,and supporting devices provided on the cabinet and drawer, of supportsmounted to operate longitudinally between the drawer and cabinet eachembodying a horizontal intermediate track section having said supportingdevices of the drawer and cabinet arranged on opposite sides thereof,flanges arranged above and below'said track section and arranged toengage said supporting devices to prevent relative tilting between thedrawer and cabinet, and portions on said flanges extending toward theintermediate track section for preventing lateral disengagement of thesupporting devices and support.

6. The combination with a cabinet, a drawer mounted to operate therein,and suitable supporting devices provided on the drawer and cabinet, ofsupports mounted to operate between the drawer and cabinet each composedof sheet material bent to form a horizontal track section having thesupporting devices of the drawer and cabinet arranged at either sidethereof, the material being bentin opposite directions from the tracksection and thence bent to form flanges extendin parallel to the tracksection, said flanges ein arranged to cooperate 'with the supporting nevices to preventvrelative tilting of the drawer and cabinet, the edgesof said flan es being bent toward said track section to orrn lateralguides for the supporting devices.

7. The combination with the casing having a drawer opening therein, adrawer adapted to operate in the drawer opening, and supporting devicesarranged on the drawer and casing, of supports having ways extendinglongitudinally of the drawer to receive the supporting devices of thedrawer and casing, and means on the supfports for retaining thesupporting devices o the Adrawer in their corresponding ways, a portionof the latter being cut-away to form assages arranged out of alinementwith said) ways for permitting the removal of the supporting devices ofthe drawer from their ways.

8. The combination with the casing having a drawer opening therein, adrawer adapted to operate in the drawer opening, and supporting devicesarranged on the drawer and casing, of supports having closed waysthereon for receiving and guiding the supporting devices of the drawerand casing, and stops on the supports for limiting the forward motion ofthe drawer, cut-away portions being formed in the corresponding ways andforming passages leading ast Athe stops to permit the removal of the irawer'supporting devices from their ways.

9. The combination with the casing havof sup orts having ways open atopposite,V

sides t iereof` to receive the rollers of the drawer and casing\andmeans on said supports for preventing the lateral disengage- Ament ofthe rollers and the Wa s.

10. The combination with t e casing having a drawer opening therein, adrawer adapted toloperate in said o ening, and lateral projecting suporting evices on the drawer and casing, o supports composed of sheetmaterial each havin horizontal upper and lower ways arrange( in the samevertical plane to receive the sup orting devices of the drawer andcasing, saidpways having turned edges serving as lateral guides for thesupporting devices.

11. `lie combination with the casing having a drawer opening therein, adrawer ada ted to operate in said opening, and lateral yprojectingsupfporting devices on the drawer and casing, o supports composed ofsheet material bent transversely into substantially the form of twochannel bars placed edgewise to, form ways extending longitudinallyrelatively to the drawer to receive'the supporting adapted to operateinthe said opening, and

laterally-projecting supporting 4devices arranged on the drawer andcasing, vof supports composed of sheet material having intermediatehorizontal tracks thereon for the sup; orting devices of the drawer andcasing, and anges above and below the intermediate portion havingretaining edges for guiding the supporting devices in the ways.

14. The combination with the casing having a drawer opening therein, adrawer adapted to operate in the said opening, and laterally-projectingrollers arranged on the drawer and casing-of supports composed of sheetmaterial bent transversely substantially in the form ofoppositely-'arranged channel bars placed edgewise to form upper andlower ways open-at opposite sides'oi` the supports havto receive therollers of the drawer and casing, and stops at the forward ends of theupper ways arranged to coperate with the rollers of the drawer to limitthe forward movement of the latter, portions of the upper ,channel barsbeing cut away adjacent to the sto s to permit removal of the drawerrollers rom their respective ways.

15. The combination with the casing having a drawer o ning therein, adrawer adapted to operate 1n the said opening, and laterelly-projectingrollers arranged on the drawer and casing, of supports having u per andlower ways extendln longitudinally to receive the rollers of t e drawerand casing, stops at the forward ends of the upper ways, the adjacentportions of the supports being cut away to permit the pass e of thedrawer rollers above the sto an guides on ythe supports extending byondthe cut-away portions to coperate wlth the rollers ofthe drawer inpassing through the cut-away portions.

16. The combination with the' casing having a drawer opening therein, aseries of rollers arranged horizontally within the casing, asupplemental roller of smaller diameter being arranged in rear of theother rollers, and a rawer adapted to operate in the said opening, ofsupports having ways thereon to recelve the rollers of the casing andadapted to movably support the drawer therein, and stops on the supportsarranged to permit the passage of the smaller roller and engage one ofthe larger rollers to limit the motion of the support relatively to thecasing.

17. The combination with the casing having a drawer opening therein, adrawer adapted to operate in said opening, and opposite arrangedsupporting devices on the drawer and casing, o extensible supports comosed of sheet material having the horizonta y-extending ways or tracksto receive the supporting devices, the upper and lower flan es orretaining the supporting devices wit 'n their ways, and stops at eitherend of the ways for the sup orting devices on the drawer formedv bybending a portion of the sheet material laterall across the ways.

18. The combination with a casing havin ya drawer opening therein, adrawer adapte :to operate 1n the openi and pro'ections arranged on theside wa s of the rawer and casing, respectively, of extensible su portsarranged between the side walls of the rawer and casing each havingparallel upper and lower ways formed thereon to receive the respeotiveprojections of the drawer and casing, and ooperating therewith toprevent vertical tilting of the drawer, and flanges on said supportsextending laterally of the sides of the respective projections toprevent .lateral movement of the supportlng devices relatively to thesupports.

lPHILIP H. YAWMAN.

Witnesses:

CLARENCE A'. BATEMAN, F. E. FRANCK.

